“I have a sharp mind when it comes to that look, being able to look into somebody’s eyes to tell if they are going to be in the foxhole with you tonight or if they are not,” Iverson said Thursday night. “To me, I am a basketball genius and I really believe that, so at any capacity I could help this franchise, that is what I am going to do.”

He also touched on other topics during the interview, including a response to author Kent Babb’s new book “Not a Game: The Incredible Rise and Unthinkable Fall of Allen Iverson.”

“They don’t even know about you, they don’t even care about you, so what are you concerning yourself for?” he said. “I am sick of defending myself and I am not going to keep on doing it.”

And on his former 76ers teammate Andre Iguodala (another former Nugget) winning the MVP of the NBA Finals, Iverson said: “I know so much about basketball, I knew he was going to be it.”

Iverson retired in 2013. An 11-time all-star, he played the majority of his career in Philadelphia with stops in Denver, Detroit and Memphis. He played in parts of three seasons (2006-09) with the Nuggets, averaging 25.6 points — the second-highest average for Denver behind Alex English.

A documentary on former Denver Nuggets star Allen Iverson will air at 7 p.m. Saturday on Showtime.

The 87-minute documentary “Iverson” is director Zatella Beatty’s first effort at the helm.

From Showtime:

Feature-length documentary charting the rise of basketball great Allen Iverson, told largely in his own words. From a turbulent childhood of crushing poverty in Virginia to controversial run-ins with the law to iconic Philadelphia 76ers all star, his audacious rejection of convention and off the court embrace of hip-hop sent shockwaves through the NBA and influenced an entire generation.

Iverson played 14 seasons in the NBA with stops in Philadelphia, Denver, Detroit and Memphis. He finished with 24,368 points (23rd all-time) and averaged 26.7 points, good enough for seventh-best all time.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, top, shoots over New York Knicks’ Jose Calderon during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015, in New York. (Seth Wenig, The Associated Press)

LeBron James needed only two shots and less than two minutes to move up the NBA ranks Sunday.

With about 10:30 remaining in the first quarter of the Cavaliers’ win against the Knicks in New York on Sunday, James scored off a layup that moved him ahead of former Nugget Allen Iverson on the league’s all-time scoring list.

Iverson ended his 14-season career with 24,368 points, No. 22 on the list. With his 18 points Sunday, James now has 24,383 in his career.

James, in his 12th NBA season, was close to surpassing Iverson on Friday against the Wizards, when he dropped 28 points in only 25 minutes. But he finished four shy, saving the feat for Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

While the achievement is just one of many in James’s career, it probably holds more meaning than others. In 2013, he raved about Iverson in multiple interviews with ESPN, telling Tom Haberstroh that Iverson is “Pound-for-pound, probably the greatest player who ever played.

“(Iverson) reminds me of Floyd Mayweather,” James said. “You could never question (Iverson’s) heart, his will to want to win. A true warrior.”

The former Nuggets and Sixers guard is in the Philippines for the “All In” celebrity basketball game and spoke to reporters about an array of subjects, from his top five NBA players, to his 16-year-old son, to why he wants to mentor young players.

He also, jokingly, offered up this gem: “I’d never want to be a coach. We’d never practice.”

Lithuania’s Kestutis Marciulionis, left, and Darius Songaila, right, scramble for the ball with the United States’ Antonio McDyess during their game at the Dome during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney on Sept. 21, 2000. (Michael Conroy, AP file)

With Kenneth Faried being named to Team USA for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, he becomes the fifth Nuggets player to don the red, white and blue since 1992 when USA Basketball began using active NBA players for the national team roster.

Here’s a look at the others:

Antonio McDyess2000 Olympics

After averaging 19.1 points and 8.5 rebounds for the Nuggets, McDyess was a late addition to the national team after Tim Duncan withdrew because of an injury.

The 6-foot-9 power forward played in all eight games, averaging 7.6 points and 5.9 rebounds as Team USA took home the gold.

Fresh off of his rookie season with the Nuggets, Anthony was selected to the 2004 Olympic national team along with fellow 2003 NBA draftees LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. The squad struggled, finishing with a 3-2 record in group play and stumbling to a bronze medal — the worst finish in U.S. history. Anthony played little, averaging just 2.4 points.

He was one of the most talented, controversial and practice-averse players in the game. And now, Allen Iverson, an 11-time NBA All-Star and four-time NBA scoring champion, will be documented in a feature film at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Told primarily in his own words, the film is said to cover “the highs and lows of the most distinctive and accomplished figures the sport of basketball has ever seen.”

The Nuggets acquired Iverson in 2006 in a trade with Philadelphia, where he had spent the first 11 years of his career. At the time of the deal, Iverson was averaging 31.2 points per game, second behind fellow Nugget Carmelo Anthony (31.6). Read more…

PHILADELPHIA – Hello from “The City of Brotherly Love” … or “Liberty Town,” the latter a nickname for Philly that, as pointed out by fellow scribe Tyler Kepner, has been used by only one human ever. That lone “Liberty Town-ing” human, however, is our planet’s finest human – Huey Lewis (I’m a super fan, as you can read here).

OK, Nuggets nuggets:

** Danilo Gallinari (left ankle) remains a game-time decision. He did participate in shootaround. Coach George Karl said that Wilson Chandler and Corey Brewer would gobble up Gallo’s minutes if the Italian forward sat out tonight’s season opener. And if you didn’t see, here’s our big piece on Gallo’s X-Factor possibilities for the season.

Anthony Carter is back with the Nuggets at training camp. (Tim Rasmussen, The Denver Post)

First I spotted his garish, shiny lime green Hummer in the players’ lot.

Then, there he was in the flesh, the ageless Anthony Carter, slicing the defense for a layup at Denver’s practice. PR man Tim Gelt then quoted in-game announcer Kyle Speller, who, instead of saying, “basket by Anthony Carter,” would say, in a high-pitched voice: “A Ceeeeeeeeeee!”

Indeed, it’s fun having Carter back with the Nuggets, even if he’s just a camp invitee, as opposed to a Nuggets starter, like he was when he played alongside Allen Iverson. The 37-year-old point guard played for Toronto last season, and is trying to crack the Nuggets’ roster this season.

Jimmer Fredette left the Pepsi Center court after BYU's win over Gonzaga in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. Might he return to the Can in a Nuggets uniform?

In 2009, the Nuggets bucked a trend of not selecting a player in the draft or trading away their pick with acquisition of Ty Lawson. It was not a lottery pick. This year the NBA conducted its draft lottery tonight, a proceeding the Nuggets haven’t been part of since 2003 when they won the third pick, which turned into Carmelo Anthony.

This year, the Nuggets have the 22nd pick in the draft and potentially have needs all over the court. It will be interesting to see what direction the new regime under the direction of Masai Ujiri and Josh Kroenke chooses to take. No matter what happens, it may give a glimpse into just what the duo may be thinking about where they want to take the roster.

For the sake of this exercise we’ll assume the Nuggets will select a player. It’s not a terribly deep draft, but there could be a diamond in the rough or two available when the Nuggets pick rolls around. Who might be there? Here’s a snapshot of who might be available and of interest to the Nuggets.

Allen Iverson got a warm reception in Denver when the Pistons played the Nuggets in 2008. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

It didn’t take long for Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson to become good friends when The Answer was traded into town in 2007.

Now, Anthony wants to be there for his buddy, who is reportedly in a life spiraling out of control. Iverson’s wife wants a divorce. A Philadelphia Inquirer report said there are those worried whether gambling and alcohol will drag his life down to depths heretofore not seen.

Anthony shook his head when asked about his take on Iverson.

“It’s sad man,” Anthony said. “That’s my guy. I really don’t want to see him going through what he’s going through. From family issues to whatever is going on off the court. That’s something I really don’t want to see him go through. When one person is down, everyone starts kicking.”

Asked if he had seen alcohol abuse or excessive gambling when Iverson was in Denver, Anthony emphatically said, “No.”

Anthony said the last time he spoke with Iverson was two weeks ago.

“I haven’t talked to him since all of this stuff started coming out,” he said.

Asked what, if anything, he can do to help his friend, Anthony sighed.

“I can just try to be there for him, just try to talk to him, keep him positive and motivated,” Anthony said. “That’s the only thing I can do. At the end of the day he’s a man, he’s got to deal with his own problems. But I just want to be there for him in any way that I can.”

Here are some more George Karl quotes from All-Star weekend. The guy always has some good perspective.

On Nuggets: Last year we thought we had too many one-dimensional players – this year we feel like we have a more-balanced team.

On modern NBA: Right now in the NBA, we all have our difficult times, even in the winning – we have ego management and attitude adjustment situations. What it comes down to is – players want to play, and if the coach doesn’t play them, there’s an edge that’s got to be communicated. In the same sense, all players want to learn, improve and want to be on a winning team. And we have that in Denver.

On J.R. Smith: I personally would like J.R. to become more fundamental, more directive, more of a basketball player and not just a shooter and a scorer. We work with him all the time on trying to cut down his mistakes and offensively, his degree-of-difficulty with shots drives you crazy, but he’s also capable of making shots. As a coach, you’d like more consistent fundamental nature, but it’s also fun to coach a guy who can make four 3s in three minutes and take a two-point game into a 20-point game as fast as anyone I’ve ever coached.

DALLAS — My favorite story from All-Star so far came from Knicks All-Star David Lee. A season ago, Lee thought he might get named as an All-Star replacement. He got nervous, kept checking his phone, figured out scenarios, the whole thing. But they ended up replacing Chris Bosh with Mo Williams.
This year, he figured he was surely out. He planned to stand in a wedding in Houston for an old high school buddy. “I rented a tux and everything.” Then, yesterday, his phone started ringing.

“I was taking a nap yesterday, and I hit ignore because I was tired,” Lee said. “By the third time Donnie Walsh’s secretary called, I figured this might be something important. Even then, I thought maybe they’d talk about the Tracy McGrady trade rumors and wanted my opinion about it. Then I realized they probably didn’t want my opinion on it, so they were probably calling for something else.”

They were calling to tell him that Allen Iverson would miss the All-Star Game because of family matters.

Lee hopped a flight and got here today, and he made sure to call the groom.
“He said, ‘I can’t be mad,’ ” Lee said of his friend.

If there’s one thing Carmelo has been able to see close-up as a friend of Allen Iverson, it’s the power of stardom.

And with Allen Iverson, it’s almighty power.

That stardom will carry Iverson to his 11th consecutive All-Star team this year, despite having the worst numbers of his career and numbers worse than other players at his position in the Eastern Conference. He continually gets voted in by adoring fans, and probably always will no matter how low his averages drop, as long as he remains part of the NBA.

Has Carmelo Anthony reached that status?

Conventional wisdom says not quite, but his 2.1 million vote total this year – fifth highest among all players – suggests he’s well on his way.

He prefaced that statement by saying “I thought that two years ago” when he was voted in as a starter alongside Iverson to the 2008 Western Conference team. But that didn’t stick. He wasn’t an All-Star at all last season as 13 games missed due to injuries derailed his bid.

But this does have a different feel to it. The vote total. The MVP talk. The scoring lead in the NBA. All of that resonates with fans and sticks with them. As his coach, George Karl said, “Once the fans recognize you, you’ve got to play awful bad not to continue that recognition. I think Melo this year has sparked the fans support, and justifiably.”

Anthony did most to help his cause by playing out-of-his-mind in last season’s playoffs, particularly the Western Conference Finals. He arrived then, and hasn’t fallen out off the radar since. And if you look at the perennial All-Stars – Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash and even Iverson – playoff success is the common thread. All of those players brought the goods when the lights were brightest.

And so we’ll see if Melo takes his place in that group. All-Star votes don’t demand that the player win a title, but do demand a standard of excellence, street credibility and commercial appeal above the pack.

“Do I think I’m supposed to be there every year? Yeah, but that’s my opinion,” Anthony said. “I’m glad the fans are seeing that and seeing what I’m doing and seeing our team success.”

There is a romanticized view out there of what the Nuggets need in the frontcourt, how they can attain it, and what the short and long-term benefits might be. There are a lot of generalities floating without nuts-and-bolts application. It’s nuts-and-bolts time.

I wrote a column in the newspaper on Tuesday saying the Nuggets didn’t don’t desperately need frontcourt help in order to win big in the playoffs. It sparked fantastic debate on the subject, as I hope this will continue the chatter.

No, the Nuggets should not add another big body to the bench. There isn’t really a good reason to do it. They already have two others in Johan Petro and Malik Allen. Now, if they were to move a big piece, like a J.R. Smith, to add a player that would come in and actually play significant minutes, that’s another discussion altogether.

But this roster built well. Let’s take the points one-by-one:

1. The Nuggets Need a Player to Come in and Spell Kenyon Martin/Nene/Chris Andersen – This has been an on-going experiment over the years: Francisco Elson, Jamal Sampson, Steven Hunter, Reggie Evans and now Petro and Allen. If there’s one thing the Nuggets have proven over the last three or four years it’s that a big body isn’t necessarily a productive body; and there’s no guarantee they’d ever play one with enough consistency to truly find out. The Nuggets run a tight rotation, basically eight deep; nine on good nights. Off the bench spots are reserved for J.R. Smith (27.5 mpg), Chris Andersen (22.4 mpg) and Ty Lawson (22.7 mpg). Add in Anthony Carter’s 18.7 mpg and you have a lineup that no other player can crack unless there are injuries. Joey Graham and Renaldo Balkman are both capable players, but there’s no time for them. The air-tight nature of the Nuggets’ bench was never better illustrated than when Channing Frye, the 6-11 Phoenix 3-point specialist, turned down a free agent contract offer from the Nuggets last summer because, “For me, it was just a matter of going somewhere where I was going to have more of an opportunity…” he told me in an interview in December.

Very few, if any, teams in the NBA even play four legitimate post players 10 minutes or more per game. The Lakers don’t even do that. It’s just that their three as a collective are better than everyone else’s. After Andrew Bynum/Pau Gasol/Lamar Odom they only have one player that stands over 6-8 – D.J. Mbenga, and he’s a spot center. Four bigs that play enough to produce tangible stats is not how the NBA operates. Three post players is the norm. In Martin/Nene/Andersen, the Nuggets have three. If the Nuggets have three they like – and they do – then why trade any commodity for a player that’s going to sit on the bench? If you need fouls, Petro and Allen can provide 12. You don’t trade for fouls. If you’re talking about resting Martin or Nene for five minutes a game, you don’t trade for that either. Allen and Petro are capable. There’s no significant ‘production’ to be had in five-10 minutes per game. What is good production for a 10 minute player? Two rebounds? Three rebounds and two points? Maybe a blocked shot? Are we saying that all that stands between the Nuggets and an NBA title is a 10-minute, 2.3-point, 2.7-rebound, 0.9-block per game player? For their sake, I certainly hope not.

If stopping Pau Gasol is the aim, this not an issue indigenous to the Nuggets. They aren’t cornering the market on not stopping Pau Gasol. I’ll show you 29 other teams in the NBA that can’t get it done either. Gasol is just a great player. He’s a perennial all-star that if he continues on this road, will push to be a hall of famer. A new 10-minute per game player isn’t going to stop his 20 points and 10 rebounds from happening. Some of the NBA’s best defensive big men struggle to slow him down.

Comparing, say, a Lamar Odom to Chris Andersen production-wise makes no sense because the two teams are constructed differently and those two players play completely different roles. We’re still talking about team basketball. J.R. Smith is the point producer off the bench for the Nuggets. Odom is the point producer off of the Lakers’ bench. Sixth-man to sixth-man is the comparison. Odom’s points are integral to the Lakers success. Smith’s points are integral to the Nuggets success. Andersen’s energy, rebounding and blocked shots are what the Nuggets look for from him, and he’s one of the best in the business. Comparing height-to-height without considering the makeup of the team and the role each is asked to play is more than a bit naïve.

2. Money – Samuel Dalembert makes $12 million this year and $12 million next season. He will not be in a Nuggets uniform this year. Memphis’ Marc Gasol is player that team is keeping, so that’s out. Washington center Brendan Haywood is making $6 million this year on an expiring contract. Why take on even part of that when the Nuggets could wait a few months and perhaps get him at a cheaper price in free agency? And while he’s an active player, he’s a career-7.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24 minutes player. He’s having a good season averaging 9.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots in 33.9 minutes this year as a starter. The Nuggets wouldn’t start him, so he’d be used similarly to how he was in Washington in 2006-07, when he played in 77 games, started 49 of those and averaged 6.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocked shots in 22.6 minutes. This year, Chris Andersen averages 5.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 22.4 minutes in what has been an injury-riddled season for him. Virtually no difference there and the Nuggets get better basket presence with the blocks from Andersen.

The Reggie Evans experiment has been done. He was simply too much of an offensive liability, who makes it certain that Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups and Nene and anyone else will get doubled with no fear that Evans would hurt them. He averaged 5.9 points and 6.8 rebounds in 18.1 minutes in eight games with the Nuggets in 2006-07. Again, Andersen easily covers that production. Jeff Foster is a move the Nuggets have reportedly tried to make. If they are somehow able to get it done in the future, the question still remains: How much can you play him? Enough to make a difference? Is Jeff Foster’s presence – whether from a production standpoint or from a rest-the-other-big-men standpoint – the difference between a title or no title for the Nuggets. I’d argue not.

And the Nuggets aren’t the only one looking. Competition for frontcourt help is fierce. Portland is in need of a big man. Charlotte has feelers out. New Jersey traded Eduardo Najera to Dallas for a pretty good one in Kris Humphries. The Mavericks certainly weren’t about to trade Humphries to a team in the Western Conference like the Nuggets, where he could come back and potentially haunt them in the playoffs. The market is full of seekers.

3. Practicality – If the Nuggets were to add significant frontcourt help, the only way to do so would be to move someone that plays big minutes. If you trade for Allen Iverson, you’ve got to get rid of an Andre Miller. The new player has to slot into the old one’s minutes. It’s the only way to get the type of production and presence that is wanted by so many. But if they were to move a J.R. Smith and add a post player, it would also change the personality of the team. If the Nuggets hypothetically ran a handful of plays for Smith, do those now go to Big Man A? And if so, does it makes the Nuggets, a free flowing, pass-oriented team, more of a half-court, dump-down and kick-out team? Maybe more of a pick-and-roll team? Do they want to significantly change the face of what they’re doing when they are having a hard time right now even making the right decisions in their current system? It’s a tough decision, and a gamble.

A few nights ago, the Nuggets held arguably the NBA’s most dominant big man this season, Orlando’s Dwight Howard, to eight points on 1-of-7 shooting. This team is capable of overcoming height disadvantages to win games.

It’s an interesting topic, to be sure. We’ll see if the Nuggets make a move or not, and whatever happens, how they fare either way.

“My problem right now is I don’t think we’re getting any speed into the game,” Karl said. “If we’re not getting speed in the game, (Anthony Carter) gives you other things that the rookie just doesn’t give you.

“I think some of it is Ty and some of it is other teams are observing him and seeing him more often. Young players, they always have holes in their first season.”

Lawson is too good to be held down, but he did have an up-and-down week last week, as did the Nuggets as a team.

Here’s our weekly look back:

Dec 7: Nuggets 93, at 76ers 83
It was Allen Iverson’s night to bask in the glow of being back in front of adoring Philadelphia fans, but it was the Nuggets’ night on the court. Chauncey Billups scored 31 points with eight assists to lead the Nuggets to the win. Andre Iguodala equaled Billups’ point output with 31, but could not make the plays late to keep Philadelphia in it. Carmelo Anthony had his streak of 20 consecutive games with 20 or more points snapped. He finished with 14.

Dec. 8: at Bobcats 107, Nuggets 95
Gerald Wallace had a huge night with 25 points, 16 rebounds and Stephen Jackson added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals as the Bobcats snapped the Nuggets’ four-game winning streak. Denver played without Kenyon Martin, who sat with a dislocated finger. Carmelo Anthony led the team with 34 points and Chauncey Billups added 14.

Dec. 10: at Detroit 101, Nuggets 99
Chauncey Billups was back in Motown – as was Arron Afflalo for the first time since being traded to the Nuggets in the summer. Billups scored 21 points, but he missed a layup as the clock ran out in the fourth and that proved to be the difference in a two-point loss. Carmelo Anthony scored 40 points, but the Nuggets, playing without Kenyon Martin for the second-straight game, had problems guarding Charlie Villanueva. The Detroit forward feasted with 27 points with five rebounds and five assists off the bench.

Dec. 12: Nuggets 105, Suns 99
The Nuggets shook off a slow start and played well in the second half to overcome a 17-point deficit and grind out a much-needed victory. Chauncey Billups scored seven of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, including two big 3-pointers to help the Nuggets rally late and hold on. Carmelo Anthony scored 10 of his game-high 32 points in the fourth, and the Nuggets raised their record to 10-1 at the Pepsi Center, also snapping a two-game losing streak.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CHAUNCEY BILLUPS
Billups was generally big-time all week long, averaging 22.5 points and 4.75 assists in the four games. He shot a sizzling 10-of-22 (.454) from 3-point range. He made critical plays in the fourth quarter to help the Nuggets win an important game against Phoenix, and has picked up the level of his play of late.

MOVE OF THE WEEK: INSERTING A.C.
In a game in which the Nuggets lacked defensive presence from the start, inserting hustling guard Anthony Carter against the Suns was a savvy move by head coach George Karl. And it paid dividends. Helped by Carter’s energy, the Nuggets were able to get better control of Phoenix on the defensive end, and that the Nuggets a chance to get back into the game.

Ask my good friend Kareem, a die-hard Allen Iverson fan, what I think about the superstar guard and he’ll say I’m an A.I. hater.

I’ll say I’m just a realist.

But no matter how it’s cut, there is no denying Iverson’s return to Philadelphia against the Nuggets on Monday night was a smash success.

Really.

He started and scored 11 points with six assists and five rebounds in 37 minutes, and was given a standing ovation by the capacity crowd during introductions. But none of that was what mattered most. What mattered most is Iverson looked like a new man. He looked like a player who missed the game of basketball so much that he appreciated it more now than perhaps at any time in his 14-year career.

And so now he gets to write the final chapter. And I, for one, hope it ends happily.

Iverson deserves to go out on top, to have the final victory lap complete with the gold watch and rocking chair to celebrate a one-of-a-kind career. And here’s how that started last night: With A.I. playing within the team concept, repeatedly jumping off the bench to cheer and support his teammates; and simply enjoying the chance to play the game, to hear the crowd and to feel the thrill of playing in the NBA once again.

The question is: Can he make it last?

“The situation was different for him the last two years,” said Nuggets forward, and Iverson’s good friend, Carmelo Anthony. “I think everybody knows he can play. People just gotta say stuff. They have to say something. They hear one person say it then the next person has to say it. Everybody knows that man can play.”

Yet, this was never a conversation about Iverson’s playing ability. We all know if given a chance (ie: field goal attempts) he could put 20 points on the board most nights. No, Iverson’s near exile from the NBA was not media-made. It was Iverson-made, and it can only be Iverson-repaired.

Unrealized playoff success ended his tenure in Denver. Clashes with teammates and coaches eroded a stint with Detroit last season and another in Memphis this season.

And, quite simply, no team wanted to take a chance on a player that could introduce turbulence into the equation. That was never more apparent than when the Knicks passed on him. They really had no reason to, and copped-out citing development of their young players as an excuse – all two of them: Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. Jordan Hill doesn’t play. Iverson no doubt could have fit into that situation with relative ease.

An injury and poor attendance in Philadelphia brought him back and hopefully with a new appreciation for what he almost completely lost. Iverson is one of the great treasures in NBA history, a barely 6-foot tall man that plays with precision, heart and, most of all, toughness. He is a first-ballot hall of famer and should be viewed as nothing less.

And he thoroughly enjoyed being back. He said as much afterwards, but it was written all over his face during the game. It was fun to see.

But here’s hoping his return isn’t simply a spectacle. The Wachovia Center was sold out, and will continue to house larger crowds now as long as No. 3 is on the roster. Merchandise sales are sure to rise. Memphis signed Iverson in hopes of similar gains to its organization’s bottom line.

But Iverson should be more than a sales piece. He’s talked about having respect for his career, and I can’t think of anything that screams of disrespect more than signing him simply to capitalize on his ‘bankability.’ If Philadelphia was selling out every night, would Iverson be back? If Memphis was selling out every night, would that organization have taken the chance?

In any case, Iverson gets what surely will be his last chance to dictate the terms of his retirement. He’s earned that. But it can only happen if this time he respects himself, the concept of a team and the game of basketball enough to allow his star to shine.

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.